1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a method for identifying a patient for later access to an electronic patient record for the patient using a communication device belonging to an inquiring person, the patient record being stored in a database using a primary key which serves to identify the patient and which has at least one unambiguously associated secondary key.
2. Description of the Related Art
For comprehensive, high-quality care for a patient in a health system, it is advantageous if the patient's data are stored in an electronic patient record which can ideally be accessed from anywhere in the world. By way of example, such patient records then contain not only the relevant patient's medical history but also pictures or test results.
In this case, the individual electronic patient records correspond to entries in a database which distinguishes between the individual patient records internally using a primary key. Each patient record therefore has an unambiguously associated primary key. However, the primary keys are allocated automatically and have no specific relationship with the patient him or herself. The primary key thus allows a patient record for a specific patient to be found, but does not characterize the patient himself. It has therefore been proposed that secondary keys be used which have a specific relationship with the patient as a person. The use of names and dates of birth is generally found to be not ideally suited, however, on account of these not being unambiguous and specific to one person.
It has been proposed that a health insurance card, for example, be used as a storage medium for the primary key or a secondary key. Reading such a health insurance card requires additional devices which may not be available, for example, to an emergency doctor or emergency medical technician, since the emergency medical personnel would need to constantly carry such reading device in order to identify a patient without any doubt, that is to say to find out the primary key for the patient's electronic patient record. Particularly in emergencies, it is important to identify the patient quickly and reliably, since the use of incorrect health data by a health professional can easily lead to complications.